Title: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
Author: Sonali Dev
First published May 7, 2019
481 pages, Paperback
Rating: 3.69
Overview
Sonali Dev’s newest novel, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, introduces readers to the Rajes – an Indian American family who have made a life for themselves in San Francisco. Dr. Trisha Raje may be the city’s most renowned neurosurgeon, but to her family, she’s the black sheep who has broken all of their non-negotiable rules.
When Trisha is given a chance to redeem herself, she meets DJ Caine – an up-and-coming chef who needs the lucrative job the Rajes offer but doesn’t want to indulge Trisha’s arrogance. However, when DJ discovers that Trisha is the only one who can save his sister’s life, the two are forced to work together.
As they clash, their assumptions about each other begin to crumble. But before they can move forward, they must first reckon with their pasts and choose between their families and their own desires.
About the Author
When Sonali Dev was just eight years old, she wrote a play about mistaken identities that was performed at her local Diwali celebration in Mumbai. Despite her early success, Sonali pursued degrees in architecture and written communication and traveled around the world while writing for various publications.
However, as she began to age and noticed her first gray hair, her passion for storytelling reignited. Sonali now combines her love for storytelling with her knowledge of Indian culture to create intricate tales that reflect her life as a mother, homemaker, and traveler.
She currently resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her dedicated and humorous husband, two demanding teenage children, and the world’s most perfect dog.
Editoral Review
In her latest novel, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, Sonali Dev has fashioned a contemporary retelling of the classic Jane Austen tale that is somehow both wholly original and deeply faithful to the original source material. Dev weaves together a gorgeous tale of family, love, class, and the immigrant experience that is both timely and timeless.
The story is set in modern-day San Francisco and centers around the Raje family, an Indian American family of elite neurosurgeons. Trisha Raje is the youngest and only sister of the family, and she has spent her entire life trying not to be defined by her family’s wealth and status.
DJ Caine is a successful and brilliant chef who has worked his way up from the bottom through sheer talent and determination. When DJ and Trisha unexpectedly encounter one another, their initial dislike of each other leads to a tangled web of misunderstandings and miscommunications that threatens to upend both of their lives.
Dev’s writing is captivating, and her characters are wonderfully developed. Trisha is a fierce and complex protagonist, grappling with the weight of familial expectations and the lingering trauma of a painful childhood.
DJ is a compelling love interest, not simply a stereotypical romantic hero, but a fleshed-out character with his own set of struggles and motivations. Dev uses Austen’s novel as a starting point to explore deeper themes, like race, class, and mental illness, with nuance and empathy.
Despite its many strengths, however, the plot of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors can be somewhat unwieldy at times. The book moves quickly and spends a great deal of time delving into the character’s backstories, which occasionally takes focus away from the central romance.
Some plot twists and turns can feel a bit contrived, and Dev’s treatment of mental illness can feel a little heavy-handed. Overall, though, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is an engrossing read that fans of Austen, romantic comedies, and contemporary fiction will thoroughly enjoy.
Dev’s ability to use the framework of a classic novel to explore contemporary issues is remarkable, and her writing style is both lush and accessible. It’s a perfect summer read, full of humor, heart, and just the right amount of drama.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
